“As a gamer girl, I was told 'you belong in the kitchen' – now I'm at the World Cup of Professional Sports.
RIYADH: Falcons Vega MENA team players say their participation in the “Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Women's Invitational” at the Esports World Cup is inspiring young girls in the region who aspire to be professional e-sports players.
Saudi Arabian club Falcons Vega MENA got off to a tough start at the MWI on Thursday, losing their matches to Group C-topping Russian Victory Song Gamers and Vietnam's Zeno Lillies.
But with a $500,000 prize pool, the largest in women's esports history, the team's stars say participating in such a prestigious tournament on the biggest platform is an achievement and an inspiration to others.
The matches are held in front of a capacity audience of over 8,000 people at the SEF Arena on Riyadh City Boulevard with millions of fans from around the world.
“I found it very competitive. We could have done better, but it was just because we were nervous. We have the experience to We need to continue and learn how we can do much better in the future.
“The scene is huge. Playing on such a big stage is special – glorious indeed. We will take it to our grave. “It's great that we got here and did our best in the first two games, even though we didn't even win.”
“Never, never, never,” Velvet, whose real name is Hadeel Mahmoud, responded to the question of whether she ever thought about becoming a professional eSports player, let alone playing in the eSports World Cup.
“I'm living the dream. I didn't think eSports would go viral and become this big and become a real paying job. I didn't even think of it as a professional thing.
“I always thought I was going to do a normal 24-hour job. “And it's great that we can turn fun stuff into something you get paid for.”
Velvet, 21, hopes that female gamers in Egypt, Saudi Arabia or wherever they are in the region will follow her example. “Yes, they can, they all can,” he added.
I used to be the girl that no one took seriously and everyone complimented me and said, 'Oh, you're just a girl, you better stop doing that stuff – the kitchen is where you belong' and those kinds of comments.
But that didn't stop me. I just kept going and wanted to prove everyone wrong because I wanted to be an inspiration to little girls and people around me. So, I'm just sending a message that if I do, they can do it. I play in the World Cup of Sports, the biggest stage in the world.
“This is how the world goes. You will not get there easily. You're going to get toxic comments and things like that, but it doesn't have to stop you from doing what you want to do. You just have to be patient and do your best and don't let any opinion get you down.”
Fvvn's teammate, also Egyptian, echoed his sentiments. “Growing up, I played games to pass the time doing something I thoroughly enjoyed and make new friends,” said fvvn, real name Ala Ayman.
But I never thought I would have the chance to play in a world-class tournament like this with people I love.
“I think women's esports should be more accessible to girls and women across the Middle East – especially so that prize pools can allow us to be more independent and learn from experiences like this.”
He added that he admired Riyadh's fans. “The support we received was overwhelming,” he said. There were fans cheering us on everywhere, in the hotel and on the pitch. Their support throughout the tournament was a highlight for us.”
The MWI is a significant addition to the Sports World Cup, which began on July 3rd at Riyadh City Boulevard and will continue until August 25th. The tournament reflects the growing presence of female gamers, who make up 48 percent of the game's 23.5 million community. in Saudi Arabia.
The Esports World Cup, which has a prize pool of $60 million, the largest in eSports history, features a unique cross-play structure that pits the top clubs and players in 22 global competitions against each other in 21 leading games.
More than 1,500 players, representing more than 60 nationalities, are battling it out this summer at the World Cup of Sport. Week 4 matches this week include “PUBG Mobile” and “Overwatch 2”.
